My Hero
by shinkirux
Summary: NejixSaku AU. He saved her life-took a bullet for her.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Cars were honking, people were screaming and amidst gunfire, a small pink haired woman sat against the hot summer's pavement clutching a man to her for dear life. She did not know this man but he was dying in her arms… an officer of the law and more precisely, the saviour of her life. All she knew of this man was his name and that he had fearlessly taken a bullet for her.

She was frantic. She screamed over a 911phone call. Save him, hurry up, she screamed. He's dying, she yells.

Hyuuga Neji dazedly looked up at the most beautiful teary eyes he had ever seen. An angel, perhaps. He had been shot but all he could feel now, was bliss. This must be death's apology- an angel to guide him to his next destination.

…and then his world went dark.

Moments later, gunfire had ceased, people were cleared and traffic was detoured and in the middle of it all sat one lone cherry blossom. Paramedics came and left with the man she had been clutching. In the heat of things, she had been left behind while the ambulance screeched down the road towards its destination.

An officer approached her to ask if she was okay and to have her checked by their medics. As the officer began to explain what was going to happen, she is dazed and doesn't really hear what he's saying. How….did she end up here? She, asks. In all honestly, she knows better than anyone and the officer is at a lost for words.

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this is where you decide if you would like to read the story! The first chapter will be uploaded within the next two days. I'm wrapping up some proofreading on it. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed my first story thus far!


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch1.**

**[In Southern California, being caught in gunfire isn't as uncommon as people think. The more desperate people got, the more ruthless they were, or they just didn't care. This is what it came down to for her. A simple task for buying food to feed her kitten had turned into a nightmare. ]**

**As she walked out of the market with a bag of kitten food, her soft humming was overcome by two groups of people getting into a heated argument. They are popping the trunk open and more people are getting out of their cars. As she passes by, her back is to them and she does not see that the people getting out of the cars are armed. Their argument has escalated to yelling and threatening. People on either side are ready to shoot at any moment. **

**As she passes the commotion she sees a police car pull up, and not just any police car; it is quite the eye catcher, to say the least. It is a shiny black on black s.u.v. with an engine that roared with altered power. Through the tinted windows she can barely make out a figure holding something and talking. She can only guess that he is calling for backup as gunfire begins behind her and she panics. **

**Second later, she is frozen to the spot as an officer steps out of the car and runs straight towards her in rapid speed. She is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, standing directly in front of the only police officer at the scene. **

**The officer is just in the nick of time as he grabs a hold of the pink haired woman, spinning her around and shielding her as bullets stray in all directions. Gunfire rings loudly in the open space.**

**The officer holds her has his head turns to face behind him. He is shooting as he tries to take her to his car for cover. His arms and his whole body jerks as he is shooting with one hand, the other one surrounding her. She is looking over his shoulder to the gunfire directly. She sees that one of the men is aiming a gun at the officers back and panics. She shakes his shoulder but it's too late. His body slumps over her as he is shot in the back. **

**For a second she is filled with a mix of terror and dread as she feels the weight of his body against hers. She is about to shake him, scared that he may be dead, but he speaks. **

**Turn me around and start moving towards my car, he grunts. Hesitating for a second, she turns him around so that his back is against her chest. He tightens his body in pain as she begins to drag him to his car, her bag of cat food long forgotten. She doesn't thinks twice about moving him with her regardless of his heavy weight, refusing to leave someone who just took a bullet for her. **

**The officer continues to shoot as he grunts in pain from his gunshot wound. His aim is off and his movements are sluggish, but he never gives up. As they finally get the car relief only lasts for a second before she notices blood oozing and seeping onto the ground and on her clothes. He is losing consciousness fast. **

**She is frantic. She grabs the walkie talkie in the officers car that was left hanging onto the floor and screams into it. She gets a response that backup is on the way but she is afraid that it will be too late. His blood is seeping into her green summer dress and smearing over her arm as it clutches him close to her. **

**The sunlight hits her shoulder as a strap of her dress falls and his brows scrunch together as he gazes dazedly with half lidded white eyes. That's when he notices for the first time how beautiful her green eyes are- funny how he notices this in the chaos that is around him. Noises are droning out and the world around him is blurring as he becomes numb from the pain.**

**There is a halo of soft pink hair as she looks down at his. He thinks he is dying and going to heaven. **

**As the officer slowly slips from consciousness, he barely registers the sounds of multiple sirens and knows that his colleagues are showing up. He thinks it's finally okay to let go, and his world goes dark. **

**As other officers arrive at the scene, they pull their guns out immediately, using their doors as a shield. An ambulance screeches to a halt as paramedics rush out to take the dying man in the girl's arms.**

**Officer down, she hears someone scream. As the ambulance takes off to the hospital the situation is calming down. The officers are winning in a three way shooting for a change. **

**When the last of the bullets are shot and the smoke clears, Sakura looks out from her hiding place and feels…devastated. Bodies are scattered around the ground while others are being arrested. A crowd is forming in the aftermath as she is being approached. An officer helps her up and begins to speak to her, but she doesn't hear a word. She is being gently dragged away from her spot.**

**Hospital, she hears him say. Something about all the blood on her dress and being checked by a doctor but she cuts him off. How…did she end up here…she asks him? He is at loss for words, his breath caught short. He doesn't know what to say but he doesn't have to try because her world fades to dark as she passes out. **

**Strange, how some things work, isn't it ? It's only when the commotion is gone and relief sets in that the human mind allows for one to let go, be overwhelmed …finally. The officer catches the falling girl and immediately has her taken to the hospital. **

**Sakura slowly opened her eyes to a bright, white room. She looks around and realizes that she is in the hospital. She notices that someone is in the bed next to hers…the same officer who saved her life. She is relieved to see him breathing and sleeping peacefully as she is briefly invaded with the feeling she had when he was dying in her arms. As she shuffles to get out of bed, a nurse enters. **

**Please lay back down, the nurse urges. It must be uncomfortable sharing a room with a man but they were short on rooms, the nurse informs. Sakura doesn't know it yet, but the nurse has woken up the ever cautious Hyuuga Neji whom was now feigning sleep. **

**Sakura inquires about the officer's health. The nurse is quick to tell that Lieutenant Hyuuga is a lucky man, that the bullet in his back had barely missed his spine… that he's stable and should make a full recovery in due time. Sakura thanks the nurse as she repeats the name the nurse stated. Lieutenant Hyuuga, she says softly to herself. The nurse leaves, scribbling notes in a folder. **

**As the door closes, Sakura dangles her long legs out of the bed and goes to the officers bed side. As she sits on the chair next to his bed, Sakura realizes just how good looking he is. Long brown hair, tight muscles and aristocratic features….she thinks back to when he had grabbed her and pushed her to him. It had been effortless and graceful, even in the face of danger, she realizes. Her heart skips a beat as she thinks about it. **

**Watching him sleep gave her the urge to touch him…to be connected to him….to relate to how she felt when he had saved her…to feel safe, cared for…..by a stranger. **

**Hesitating for a second, she reaches her hand out and feels a strand of his soft hair. A big, warm hand gently grabs her wrist and pale, white eyes open. **

**Gasping softly, Sakura is both started and excited. The officer is awake and she feels curiosity rising, suddenly very interested in learning about the man who saved her life. He studies her for a second before letting her wrist go. He notices her hospital gown and asks if she is hurt. His brows furrow as he remembers backup being present at the scene before he has passed out. **

**She looks into his creamy white eyes for a second and is captured by the intensity of them. It was a strange sensation, one that made her stomach loop around, to be the focus of such concentration, of a heated, burning stare.**

**She stutters before she asks how he feels, ignoring his inquiry. When he grunts that he's sore but okay, she is relieved. She hugs him and buries her face in his shoulder, calling him her hero. She is so thankful for him to be alive and well that she doesn't realize how awkward it is for the lieutenant to be so suddenly touched.**

**He winces but does not push her away. He relives, a moment not too long ago when he was bleeding and dying and a pink haired angel had her arms around him…an angel he hadn't thought twice in saving….it had been a split second reaction, completely natural-and strange. **

**When she pulls away, she looks at him with those big, sparkly green eyes and swears that she is going to take care of him until he fully recovers and was only going to leave him to feed her kitten whose food she still hadn't gotten. Last time she tried, she had planted herself in the center of a horrific mess.**

**He notices the adorable way her face conveys a multitude of emotions before she settles on a pout, no doubt probably thinking about how long her kitten has not had food while she was in the hospital. **

**A nurse enters again and upon seeing the lieutenant awake, hurries over to check his vitals. She asks him a string of questions. Satisfied with his condition, she begins to leave after she tells him to rest.**

**When the nurse leaves Sakura begins to fuss. Leiutenant Hyuuga, she calls him. While she concerns for his recovery animatedly, he stops her mid speech and requests to be called Neji. **

**Neji…..she says, and smiles. His name at her lips is like sweets to a child. Sakura, she says, Haruno Sakura. **

**Sakura, he calls, in a calm and deep rumble, how about going out to dinner once he gets out of the hospital, he suggests. It was bold of him, like blindly asking a stranger on a dinner date and hoping they'd agree…except this was Hyuuga Neji and he wasn't the youngest Lieutenant in L.A. for nothing. **

**For a moment he realizes his mistake and hopes she doesn't feel obligated to go out with him.**

**She smiles, one that reaches all the way to her eyes, and agrees. He is enchanted by her smile- but in truth he had been enchanted from the moment he set his eyes on her. Watching her smile made it completely worth being shot. How silly of him, he thinks, like a damn lovesick puppy. In all his years in the field he had never felt so carefree and relaxed than with her. It felt…..nice. Then again, it also seemed troublesome to be so unguarded. **

**As they look into each others eyes, they are unaware of the time that flies by. Sakura asks him about his job and what he does, her mind ever the curious cat. He tells her stories of his experiences in the field and finds it easy to crack a smile from his usually series occupation. As the week goes by, Neji is visited by nearly everyone in his profession whom he knows within a 2 hour distance. It's not everyday that one of their own lieutenants is shot and bleeding to near death, only to escape so easily as he did. **

**Sakura is faithfully by is side everyday, even though she was released a day after she awoke. She is there to keep him company until he is released a week later. Everyone agrees that he is amazing- not only surviving the catastrope but recovering enough to leave a week later as well. **

**Sakura is there when he is released, offering to take him home, noticing how just about everyone he knew had visited but she had not seen any family members visit. She figures it is a sore topic and decides not to probe it.**

**He is grateful for her company, her contagious mood always light and carefree. Her presence is like a light in his dim life. **

**As he sits in the passenger side of Sakura's Honda civic, he begins to look around the car, capturing her essence in how and what she places in her car. Her car is very well kept, clean, with a few placed personals and a light pleasant scent of strawberries; she is careful yet easy going, orderly yet vibrant- a well balanced personality. **

**She turns on the stereo, volume on soft. Amos Lee is playing, a song titled "I'm not Myself,",…**

_**If you wanna leave me, **_

_**Baby, go ahead. **_

_**I know you don't believe me**_

_**When I finally say, **_

_**I'm not myself when I'm with you**_

_**It takes and breaks my heart in two. **_

**Neji turns his head to gaze at Sakura who is following the directions he gave her to his home. She is good with directions, he notices. She does not once take a wrong turn. **

**When they finally arrive, Sakura is both impressed and awestruck. His home is beautiful and the yard is well kept. It was certainly bigger than her small apartment and she didn't have any greens to cherish. She tries not to gawk, choosing to simply smile and state that his home is nice. **

**She offers to carry what little belongings he had with him but he declines. He is capable himself. As he thanks her for the drive and for taking care of him, he leans over the open window of her car and states that he will be at her apartment to pick her up at 7 later that same evening. He gives her a hint of a small grin ..or was that meant to be a smile? …before he walks up the driveway to his door. **

**He turns around for a second, glancing over his shoulder and nodding once. As she drives off and arrives to her apartment, she realizes that she has not informed Neji where she was currently residing. She thinks about turning around and going back briefly before realizing that it would take him all but one phone call to find out all the information the government had of her. She is slightly peeved that it is so easy for him but excited deep down inside, for dinner later. **

**As she walks through the front door, she is greeted by a black kitten. He mews and rubs against her. Yellow eyes look up to its owner and Sakura dips her arms to hold the kitten as she closes the door and drops her purse. She holds the kitten lovingly in her arms, scratching his belly. The kitten purrs in return and closes his eyes, relishing in the presence of his adopted mother. **

**Sakura thinks back to when she first had the kitten- it was quite the cliché, she thinks. It had been drizzling lightly and dark. Being unaccustomed to rain, she had not been expecting it…and neither had the people who were walking a bit faster than usual down the street to avoid the moisture. A particular set of hasty feet had kicked a rather large cardboard box straight into her path. Coming to a halt, she surveyed the box before deciding to move it aside when she chanced a look inside. A pair of beady yellow eyes looked back at her. **

**This is how they had met, Hatji and Sakura. Someone had left a tiny kitten in a box too big for him to get out of, in the rain….a black kitten in a dark box in the dark. **

**Enjoying peace and quiet for a few minutes before Sakura had to clean up and get ready for dinner, she sits down on her sofa with Hatji in her lap. For a second, she wonders if Neji had meant to ask her where to pick her up before deciding that in case he had really meant to ask , she would wait to see if he showed up and go find him at his home if he didn't. **

**Calling to her sleeping kitten softly, she lays him down on the couch and gets up. He immediately notices the lack of warmth and gets up. Looking ahead curiously, he sees Mother moving to the bedroom and quickly follows after. She is going into the bathroom and quickly slides through the closing door before it is closed all the way. Hatji decides to wait for Mother to finish showering and prepping on the sink counter. **

**As the water turns on, Hatji is not alarmed. He's been stuck in the rain before and water was nothing new to him. **

**Sakura relaxes under the sensation of hot water running down her nude form. Her mind is blank for once and all she can do is feel. The shower is over too soon when she is done cleaning up. Stepping out of the shower wrapped in a towel, she begins to dry her hair and put on light makeup for the evening to come. **

**As she looks through her dresses to figure out what to wear, anticipation and excitement builds in her stomach, and she giggles to herself. **

**As she decides on a simple black dress and straps on her shoes, there is a soft knocking at the door. Sakura bolts to the door and smoothes herself before calmly opening the door. **

**_______________________________________notes:**

**1. I realize that the transitions between Neji and Sakura is a bit awkward but I left it as is …because this is how I saw it in my head **

**2 also, I realize some things just don't happen the way I wrote them anymore. Bare with me! I'm trying to get to the fluffy parts b/c that's what I like!! (barf)**

**3. Hatji the black kitten is actually my black cat. I found him the same exact way I described it except not in L.A. I also do the exact same thing Sakura did with her cat every day I get back from work. I just wanted to add here for people who are willing to read into the notes that black cats are the least likely to be adopted, and it's not uncommon for a black cat to be abused or neglected, especially during Halloween, just because of the color . It is also illegal where I live to just…abandon a helpless animal in the streets. **

**Love is blind, especially color blind. **

**Oh yeah, I know Hatji is a dog's name….but I had a ferret named NANA and she died so I named my next pet Hatji….he just happened to be a cat. **


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Note….Life is miserable; allergies SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the door opens she is hit with a fragrance akin to rain showers and forests. It couldn't possibly be cologne, which meant Neji smelled just as good, if not better, just being himself…and Sakura rather liked that- the smell of natural attraction.

Neji is standing there, with his hands in his pockets, a light gaze perusing her being while he takes in her appearance. She is doing the same, albeit, more obviously than he is. This is all new to her, this immediate and irrevocable attraction. He's wearing a simple black shirt with black slacks and somehow she manages to see all the contours of his body through his thin shirt as it hangs on him in just the right way, as if he's wearing the tight yet simple and elegant dress she is wearing.

Despite the beautiful body, he is entranced by her sparkling eyes and curly pink hair. It made the most striking combination he'd ever seen.

Clearing his throat, Neji sticks out an arm for her to take. As she links her arm in his, she turns behind her and waves goodbye to a little black kitten standing in the middle of the walkway. He just notices the kitten standing there but has not a chance to dwell on it as Sakura steps out into the hallway, closing and locking the door behind her.

As she registers his warm arm still wrapped together with her, she breaks the comfortable silence. Where are we going, she asks. He smiles a small yet gentle smile in response. It's a secret, he says.

When they get to Neji's car, he is a complete gentleman, opening the door and helping her with the seatbelt before gently closing the door. The car ride over is just like before, silent yet comfortable. No words are needed to pick up on the excitement emanating from the couple.

She watches as the street signs pass by, curious as to where they are going. This was, after all, their first date and her first real date in a while. She had been busy with the new business she'd opened with her partner and best friend (I put this in b/c I realized that no one knew what Sakura does for a living….and neither did I lol). Her efforts were fruitless as she decided that she would just have to wait to find out.

The car finally comes to a halt as Neji parks on the side of a street. Sakura still has no idea where they are going; the street they were on was littered with places to eat and drink.

As Neji comes around the car to help her out, he shields her from the side of the street with passing traffic. He cradles her back with his body as she straightens herself out. For a moment he is close enough to him to feel the heated fragrance exuding from his body. She's hit with memories of the day they first met and smiles. It seemed as thought it was just in his nature to be protective and careful.

I hope you like steak, he says, as he guides her down the street to the entrance of a fancy looking restaurant. He had put careful thought into where to take her, and decided that this steak house would be the best- not only was their steak fantastic, but their pasta and vegetarian dishes were great as well. This was just in case Sakura turned out to be a vegetarian. Once he found out what she liked to eat, he would take her to somewhere more specialized.

Next time…hmmm,….he muses to himself.

He really hoped to God that this would work out- this thing he was cultivating between himself and Sakura. Heavens knew he had lived the lonely bachelors life for many years now, despite his young age.

She is looking at the menu with the most adorable confusion and he takes full advantage of the moment to shamelessly stare at her. When the waiter comes to take the order, he s doesn't take his eyes off of her to order for the both of them . She is simply unable to decide what to eat.

When she finally notices his blatant stare, her cheeks flare a heated, pretty pink and she is unable to hold his gaze for so long. He clears his voice to speak when he has her attention all to himself. He takes a moment to make his intentions clear to her- to show her that he intended to take their relationship as far as she would allow and only with her consent, that this dinner wasn't just a dinner to thank her for taking care of him.

She calmly responds that she is delighted, that the feeling is mutual, a soft look in her big green eyes. As the food arrives, a happy silence once again blankets the atmosphere. They are enjoying the food with excitement renewed by their previous confessions when Neji's phone rings.

Apologizing for his rudeness, he takes the call because it is from the precinct and by the look on his face it is something that is pressing. As he throws down a hundred dollar bill, he quickly gets up and pulls Sakura gently out of her seat. He is torn for a second, because he is needed down at the local precinct but he is not willing to leave Sakura there.

As they take off in his car, his lights shining and siren blaring, he explains that an arrested suspect has somehow gotten loose and is causing a raucous. He expresses his unwillingness to just let her go by herself when she attests to her ability to catch a cab home but also explains that since it is dangerous for her to be inside the precinct with him, he is going to leave her in the car. He explains to her where all he gadgets are and in the case that she needs it, he also shows her where the extra gun is hidden.

When they arrive at the precinct, the noise is loud enough to be heard outside. He takes one last glance at her before he cautiously enters the building.

Sakura is left alone in the car and she wonders what is going on inside. She tells herself that she should be scared, or alarmed at the least, but she is unable to feel so. She does wonder how long he'll be.

Not 10 minutes after Neji went in, the precinct is finally silent. Curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura wonders for a second if it would be okay for her to step out before opens the door and gets out of the car. She takes all but 3 steps forward when the doors to the precinct burst open and a man runs out.

As the man runs out of the precinct, Neji along with a handful of officers chase after him. He runs straight towards her and shoves her out of his way hard against the car. In a split second reaction, she clings onto this shirt by the arm that just shoved her and topples over with him when the man trips and falls.

By now Neji and the other officers have arrived and taken over the situation. As Neji pulls Sakura from the ground, he shields her from the suspect who is now cursing profanities while he is handcuffed and taken back inside. Dusting her off, he thinks of giving her a piece of his mind for getting out of the car and putting herself in danger but stops when he sees the look on her face.

Dazedly, she looks up at him with a cheeky grin and asks, how did I do on my first day Lieutenant Hyuuga? He is too relieved to be upset with her. This woman seemed to have impeccable timing, both good and bad. What am I to ever do with you, he states more than asks.

Or, how about, I'm glad you're okay..she whispers, their faces inching closer. Brushing a stray hair from her face, Neji pushes her against his car. Neji whispers back, or how about…..and doesn't finish the sentence. He captures her lips in his instead, soft warm lips meeting together in heated bliss.

Suddenly, there are cat calls and whistles in the background as other officers watch from a distance. They knew all too well how Lieutenant Hyuuga had been long overdue for a bit of romance in his life. Actually, some of the officers had recognized the pink haired woman from previous events and wholeheartedly approved the coupling.

Embarrassed beyond viable relief, Sakura once again blushed a pretty pink and ducked her face into his chest to hide herself. She could feel the deep rumble in his chest as he chuckled with endearment at her actions.

_---__---___---_____-------_________-------------

A year later, soon to be Hyuuga Sakura stretches her arms and legs as the sun peeks through the curtains. This sunny Saturday morning she sleeps in and enjoys the sight of her lover sleeping soundly next to her when she wakes.

She thinks of a mischievous way to wake him but lets out a giggle that wakes him up instead. Sleep filled pearl eye slide open, taking in the disheveled look of his pink haired angel before he pulls her back down against him. Kissing her shoulder and neck from behind, he pulls the straps of her bra off of her before he takes one full breast into his hand.

Thinking of the activities from the previous night, Sakura lets out a slightly exasperated huff.

Neji kun! Again?

The end.

I had a bit of trouble in closing the story because the story kind of worked backwards. Due to the nature of the way Neji and Sakura met I didn't know how to finish the story off- I couldn't just make it like, hey nothing went wrong after that and they lived happily ever after!

Hope it wasn't too out there- the story line. I thought I would enjoy not writing a lemon but it made me think too hard otherwise.

Pulleeesseee review.

Oh, another thing-quick question. You guys know my first story, Little Green Dress? If someone reviews it in laughter.…..is said reviewer laughing at me? Or the story?


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